Agricultural Materials
Program
CSREES is USDA's principal link to academia
and participates in a nationwide agricultural
research planning and coordination system
that includes state land-grant universities
and the agricultural industry. As the federal
partner in a cooperative system, CSREES provides
leadership and funding to its university
partners and other cooperators to advance
research, extension, and higher education
in the food and agricultural sciences and
related environmental and human sciences.
CSREES promotes research and development
for biobased industrial products and bioenergy
primarily through its Agricultural Materials
Program, National Research Initiative, and
Small Business Innovation Research Program.
The Agricultural Materials Program provides
funding for new crop development to encourage
crop diversity and for new uses of conventional
agricultural materials to stimulate market
expansion. Non-competitive funding through
formula grants and special research grants
to land-grant universities support a range
of basic and applied research topics including
plant breeding and genetics, crop production,
materials processing, and product development.
Products include lubricants, energy, fibers,
polymers, chemicals, and uses of agricultural
waste.
Competitive funding was provided in 2000
and 2001 through the Initiative for Future
Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS). This
initiative supported applied and developmental
research that integrates research, education,
and extension activities to address key issues
of national and regional importance, including
new and alternative uses and production of
agricultural commodities and products. Projects
address:
- Optimizing technologies for converting
biomass to ethanol.
- Developing formulations for functional
fluids and greases from corn, soybeans,
castor, and lesquerella.
- Producing hypoallergenic latex rubber
from guayule and genetically modified sunflower.
- Producing energy and products from animal
waste.
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